The HHS has informed state and private Medicaid officials that program funds can be used to cover the cost of insect repellent when prescribed by a healthcare professional for the purposes of Zika prevention, according to USA Today.
Vikki Wachino, director of HHS' Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, sent a letter informing officials of the change in guidance. The letter stated that Medicaid managed care plans can go beyond the required services to help stop the spread of Zika. The letter also informed officials that all diagnostic services related to Zika, including detection services for microcephaly — a rare birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads — must be covered.
On Tuesday, the first infant in the continental U.S. with Zika-related microcephaly was born in a New Jersey hospital.
More articles on the Zika virus:
The problem with how Congress is funding Zika response efforts
Infant with Zika-related microcephaly born in New Jersey
Many Americans unaware of how Zika spreads and 6 other survey findings